shirt, and the handkerchief on my neck, were burnt, and I was almost smothered with the smoke.  However, through God’s mercy, as I was nearly giving up all hopes, some people brought blankets and mattresses and threw them on the flames, by which means in a short time the fire was put out.  I was severely reprimanded and menaced by such of the officers who knew it, and strictly charged never more to go there with a light:  and, indeed, even my own fears made me give heed to this command for a little time; but at last, not being able to write my journal in any other part of the ship, I was tempted again to venture by stealth with a light in the same cabin, though not without considerable fear and dread on my mind.  On the 20th of June we began to use Dr. Irving’s apparatus for making salt water fresh; I used to attend the distillery:  I frequently purified from twenty-six to forty gallons a day.  The water thus distilled was perfectly pure, well tasted, and free from salt; and was used on various occasions on board the ship.  On the 28th of June, being in lat. 78, we made Greenland, where I was surprised to see the sun did not set.  The weather now became extremely cold; and as we sailed between north and east, which was our course, we saw many very high and curious mountains of ice; and also a great number of very large whales, which used to come close to our ship, and blow the water up to a very great height in the air.  One morning we had vast quantities of sea-horses about the ship, which neighed exactly like any other horses.  We fired some harpoon guns amongst them, in order to take some, but we could not get any.  The 30th, the captain of a Greenland ship came on board, and told us of three ships that were lost in the ice; however we still held on our course till July the 11th, when we were stopt by one compact impenetrable body of ice.  We ran along it from east to west above ten degrees; and on the 27th we got as far north as 80, 37; and in 19 or 20 degrees east longitude from London.  On the 29th and 30th of July we saw one continued plain of smooth unbroken ice, bounded only by the horizon; and we fastened to a piece of ice that was eight yards eleven inches thick.  We had generally sunshine, and constant daylight; which gave cheerfulness and novelty to the whole of this striking, grand, and uncommon scene; and, to heighten it still more, the reflection of the sun from the ice gave the clouds a most beautiful appearance.  We killed many different animals at this time, and among the rest nine bears.  Though they had nothing in their paunches but water yet they were all very fat.  We used to decoy them to the ship sometimes by burning feathers or skins.  I thought them coarse eating, but some of the ship’s company relished them very much.  Some of our people once, in the boat, fired at and wounded a sea-horse, which dived immediately; and, in a little time after, brought up with it a number of others.  They all joined in an attack upon the boat, and were with difficulty